Choose My Plate - Dietary Guideline Tips

10 Tips to a Great Plate

Making food choices for a healthy lifestyle can be as simple as using these 10 Tips. Use the ideas in this list to balance your calories, to choose foods to eat more often, and to cut back on foods to eat less often.

1. Balance Calories - Find out how many calories YOU need for a day as a first step in managing your weight. Go to www.ChooseMyPlate.gov to find your calorie level. Being physically active also helps you balance calories. 
2. Enjoy your food, but eat less - Take the time to fully enjoy your food as you eat it. Eating too fast or when your attention is elsewhere may lead to eating too many calories. Pay attention to hunger and fullness cues before, during, and after meals. Use them to recognize when to eat and when you’ve had enough. 
3. Avoid oversized portions - Use a smaller plate, bowl, and glass. Portion out foods before you eat. When eating out, choose a smaller size option, share a dish, or take home part of your meal.
4. Foods to eat more often - Eat more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and fat-free or 1% milk and dairy products. These foods have the nutrients you need for health—including potassium, calcium, vitamin D, and fiber. Make them the basis for meals and snacks.
5. Make half your plate fruits and vegetables - Choose red, orange, and dark-green vegetables like tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and broccoli, along with other vegetables for your meals. Add fruit to meals as part of main or side dishes or as dessert.
6. Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk - They have the same amount of calcium and other essential nutrients as whole milk, but fewer calories and less saturated fat.
7. Make half your grains whole grains - To eat more whole grains, substitute a whole-grain product for a refined product—such as eating wholewheat bread instead of white bread or brown rice instead of white rice
8. Foods to eat less often - Cut back on foods high in solid fats, added sugars, and salt. They include cakes, cookies, ice cream, candies, sweetened drinks, pizza, and fatty meats like ribs, sausages, bacon, and hot dogs. Use these foods as occasional treats, not everyday foods. 
9. Compare sodium in foods - Use the Nutrition Facts label to choose lower sodium versions of foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals. Select canned foods labeled “low sodium,” ”reduced sodium,” or “no salt added.” 
10. Drink water instead of sugary drinks -  Cut calories by drinking water or unsweetened beverages. Soda, energy drinks, and sports drinks are a major source of added sugar, and calories, in American diets.

Choose My Plate

Over the next few days we will be going over the new guidelines from ChooseMyPlate. This new guideline replaces the old Food Pyramid. We will look at the general guidelines and then over the next few days we will focus on specific areas of the new guidelines from ChooseMyPlate. 

Learning to Read Food Labels

Serving Sizes

Daily Caloric Intake and Losing Weight the Healthy Way - Part 2

Once you have an idea of what your daily caloric intake should be based on the previous post you can then make your weight loss plan.

3,500 calories = 1 lbs.

This means that you need to consume 3,500 less or burn 3,500 more in order to lose 1 lbs. Based on the previous posts 1/2 - 2 lbs. a week are examples of healthy and maintainable weight loss.

Let's take a look at two examples of how you can adjust your individual weight loss plan to achieve your weight loss goals.

Example 1
Female 
BMR: 1,800 kcal
Physical Activity Level: Moderate Activity Level (Exercises 3 days a week for at least 30 min.)
Daily Caloric Intake: 2,520 calories a day (to maintain current weight)

In order to lose 1 lbs. a week this female needs to consume 500 calories less or burn 500 calories more from exercise a day in order to lose 1 lbs. a week. She could also do a combination of both consuming less and exercising more (i.e. consume 250 calories less burn 250 calories more). Having a 500 calorie deficit each day will result in the 3,500 calorie deficit for the week resulting in the 1 lbs. weight loss.

Option 1: Exercise
This female could eat her recommended 2,520 calories and exercise more to burn the extra 500 calories.
Option 2: Nutrition
She could also eat 2,000 calories a day to achieve the 1 lbs. a week weight loss goal.
Option 3: Combination of Exercise and Nutrition
She could eat 2,270 calories per day and burn 250 calories more through exercise.

*NOTE: ALL these options keep her daily caloric intake above her BMR.


Example 2
Male
BMR: 2,200 kcal
Physical Activity Level: High Activity Level (Exercises 5 days a week for at least 30 min.)
Daily Caloric Intake: 3,300 calories a day (to maintain current weight)

In order to lose 2 lbs. a week this male needs to consume 1,000 calories less or burn 1,000 calories more from exercise a day in order to lose 2 lbs. a week. He could also do a combination of both consuming less and exercising more (i.e. consume 500 calories less burn 500 calories more). Having a 1,000 calorie deficit each day will result in the 7,000 calorie deficit for the week resulting in the 2 lbs. weight loss.

Option 1: Exercise
This male could eat his recommended 3,300 calories and exercise more to burn the extra 1,000 calories.
Option 2: Nutrition
He could also eat 2,300 calories a day to achieve the 2 lbs. a week weight loss goal.
Option 3: Combination of Exercise and Nutrition
He could eat 2,800 calories per day and burn 500 calories more through exercise.

*NOTE: ALL these options keep his daily caloric intake above his BMR.